A swarm of tornadoes has torn across the US Midwest’s Indiana, Ohio and Kansas, smashing homes and leaving one person dead and at least 130 injured.

The storms were among 55 twisters forecasters said may have touched down Monday across eight US states eastward from Idaho and Colorado.

On Wednesday, another twister was thrashing its way through Kansas after weeks of unusually high US tornado activity.

Social media lit up with people posting video of huge twisters rampaging across farms and fields as it approached Kansas city.

Massive rain wrapped tornado as it passed south of Lawrence!!! #KSWX #MOWX @glezak @41actionnews pic.twitter.com/Kk9R4dmUMW

— Gerard Jebaily ☈🌪(blue checkmark) (@GerardJebaily) May 29, 2019

The parade of tornadoes has peeled away roofs, knocked houses off their foundations, toppled trees, brought down powerlines and churned up so much debris it was visible on radar.

Highway crews had to use snowplows on highways.

An 81-year-old man was killed in Celina, a small city 105km north of Dayton, Ohio, after a tornado sent a vehicle crashing into his home.

Of the injured, more than two dozen were admitted to hospitals.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency in three hard-hit counties, allowing the state to suspend normal purchasing procedures and quickly provide supplies like water and generators.

A tornado carves a path of destruction through suburbia in Celina, Ohio. Photo: AAP

Storm reports posted online by the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Centre showed 14 suspected tornadoes touched down in Indiana, 12 in Colorado and nine in Ohio. Seven were reported in Iowa, five in Nebraska, four in Illinois and three in Minnesota, with one in Idaho.

Monday marked a record-equalling 11th consecutive day with at least eight tornadoes in the US, according to Storm Prediction Centre meteorologists.

One of the most violent tornadoes I've I've ever seen just dissipated north of Luray, KS #kswx #tornado @NWSWichita pic.twitter.com/sDzfXQ59nD

— Connor McCrorey (@ConnorWX) May 28, 2019

To the west, thunderstorms dropped hail as large as tennis balls in Colorado, and dozens of drivers in Nebraska copped broken windshields.

A tornado with winds up to 225km/h struck near Trotwood, Ohio, a community of about 24,500 people 12km outside Dayton.

Just before midnight, about 40 minutes after that tornado cut through, the National Weather Service tweeted another one was crossing its path.

A boil-water advisory was issued after the city’s pumping stations lost power, and Dayton Power & Light said 64,000 customers were left without electricity.

A home in northwest Celina, Ohio, had its roof torn off by a tornado that was part of a storm system striking the region. Photo: AAP

-with AAP